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Washington Evening Journal
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Washington, IA 52353
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2024 All-State softball teams
Washington, Highland, Van Buren County, Columbus and Hillcrest Academy all represented on all-state list
The 2024 season featured some fantastic softball teams coupled with a plethora of equally outstanding players.
With the latest release of the Iowa Girls Coaches Association’s 2024 All-State teams, the top players from around the state are given recognition.
Southeast Iowa is represented well on this years’ list as the Union area has six teams represented. Those teams are Washington, Highland, Hillcrest Academy, Van Buren County, Cardinal and Columbus.
Washington ends the summer with a pair of all-state softball selections. Those two players are sisters Leighton and Bella Salazar. The pair were named to 3A second team and third team respectively.
Leighton followed up a stellar freshman season with a great sophomore season. She had a phenomenal year at the plate, hitting .524 with 66 hits and 29 RBIs. She finished with 10 doubles, three triples.
Bella Salazar hit .348 this summer notching 40 hits with 34 singles, five doubles, one triple and 37 RBIs. She was equally phenomenal in the circle, going 13-8 with a 2.67 ERA and 100 strikeouts.
In Class 2A, Cardinal, Columbus and Van Buren County all have one selection.
Columbus’ Lily Coil and Van Buren County’s Ashlynn Huff both earned second team honors, while Cardinal’s Nicoa McClure was a third team pick.
Coil put together yet another great season for the Wildcats. She bat an outstanding .623 with 33 hits and 21 RBIs. In the field, Coil ended with a fielding percentage of .942.
In the circle, Coil was pretty good as well. She finished with an ERA of 2.95, giving up 57 hits, 50 runs (23 earned) with 59 strikeouts.
As for Huff, she ended the season with a .512 batting average. She led the Warriors in hits with 41, while also posting 13 RBIs. She was efficient in the field as well, finishing with a fielding percentage of .949.
Cardinal’s McClure tied for the most wins in the South Central Conference this season, closing with a record of 22-7. Her 1.85 earned runs average was a conference best. In all she gave up just 151 hits, 78 runs (46 earned) with 163 strikeouts.
McClure gave opposing hitters issues, holding them to an average of .206. As a hitter, she finished with an average of .240, notching 23 hits with 17 RBIs.
Highland leads the Union area with three all state selections this season.
Sarah Burton was named to second team, Payton Brun third team and Lilly Barre honorable mention.
Burton closed out her career with yet another great season on the field. The Huskies senior batted .438 with 39 hits, a team best, with 16 RBIs. Burton also finished with 35 stolen bases.
Brun led Highland with a batting average of .458. She finished with 33 hits and 29 RBIs, which was a team best. At first base, she also had an outstanding .988 fielding percentage.
Barre finished her season with a batting average of .366. She tallied 32 runs, 26 hits with 16 RBIs. In the field, Barre had a fielding percentage of .988.
Hillcrest Academy’s lone selection came in the form of Malia Yoder. Yoder, who was an honorable mention selection, finished with a batting average of .571, while also leading the Ravens in hits and RBIs with 44 and 33 respectively.
The full all-state lists from all five classes can be found here.
